Each year, multitudes of people acquire infections while admitted to hospitals. These infections, which are secondary to the conditions for which they were admitted, are known as nosocomial infections. Many nosocomial infections are caused by inadequate sanitation procedures or the failure of hospital staff and visitors to follow proper sanitation procedures. Thorough and regular hand washing is a sanitation procedure that when followed, can prevent a large number of nosocomial infections by mitigating the spread of dangerous germs.
To encourage frequent hand washing, most hospitals are equipped with hand washing stations in every patient room, as well as in public areas, restrooms, operating rooms, laboratories, and many other areas. Hospital personnel are told to wash their hands when entering any patient room prior to physically contacting the patient, except during emergency situations. Unfortunately, hospital staff and visiting doctors sometimes forget or ignore the recommended hand washing procedures, creating a potential for nosocomial infections. Visitors are even more likely than hospital personnel to ignore hand washing requests which further increases the likelihood of nosocomial infections. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is presented.